Azul gives a snide squawk, bouncing his head at me.
Gruffly, I capitulate, quickly checking that the amulet and the knife’s hilt are safely tucked into my pocket. “If that’s what it takes.”
I catch my breath when Maxim doesn’t hesitate, closing the gap between us. “Support her head,” he says. “Her knees are here. The hide is thick, so it’s hard to tell. Make sure you keep that end open so she can breathe.”
Ican’t breathe.
My mother barely weighs a thing. She must be extremely thin. Incredibly depleted. An absence of weight that brings a sudden crushing wave of pain and grief.
My eyes burn. “Fuck.”
Maxim heard about how my father treated her. Surely, he also heard that she died a savage death during a vampyr attack.
But he hasn’t asked. Hasn’t said anything about it.
I try to rid myself of the pain before it shows, but it’s no fucking use.
“Is she—” I clear my throat. “Before you wrapped her up, could you tell if she was sleeping? Or unconscious?”
“She was curled up on her side, arms to her chest. Knees bent. Her eyes were closed. She’s breathing. She has no visible wounds, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Yeah. That.
If Thyra were here, she would know exactly what to say to me right now.
She’d fucking reach for me, press her palm to my face as carefully as if she were holding my heart in her hands, and tell me that it’s okay to believe in this moment.
It’s okay to accept the mercy of hearing my mother’s quiet, steady breathing.
But instead, I’m here with my mortal enemy, an uneasy truce between us that could break at the slightest provocation.
Maxim’s expression is unreadable as he gestures to Azul. “You go first.”
I glare at him, grateful for the distraction. “I thought you’d like a head start.”
“I want to keep you in my sights.”
I snort. “Azul could fly far ahead of you before you’ve even left this tunnel.”
“Not at the speeds I can run.”
I cast him a doubtful stare. “Let’s see if that’s true.”
Turning to Azul, I find him already crouched low to the ground. I guess he’s still getting used to the fact that I can fly.
I float upward, holding my mother safely as I lower myself onto Azul’s back.
Quietly,I murmur to him. “One last flight together, Azul.” Then a command. “After this, forget I exist.”
He nods, as if he’s way ahead of me on that.
In a flurry of feathers, he takes to the air, and I fight to adjust my balance, to enable my weight to settle so I don’t lift off him.
Within seconds, we soar toward the nearest mountain ridge and then beyond it.
Behind us, Maxim disappears briefly into the tunnel before reappearing and taking the jump at full pelt, throwing himself across the distance, reaching the ridge without incident this time.
Ihumphat his success. He won’t be able to keep up with us.
